York City striker Jamie Reed up for sale

JAMIE Reed has been told he can leave York City during the transfer window if the club receive the right offer for his services.

The 25-year-old forward has informed manager Gary Mills he is unhappy with his limited chances in City’s starting line-up and that he would like to try his luck elsewhere.

Blue Square Bet Premier promotion contenders Grimsby and Wrexham have expressed an interest in Reed, who has netted 25 times in 81 outings for City including 45 from the bench.

But no club has yet matched Mills’ modest asking price and, if they don’t, Reed could remain a Minsterman until the end of the season and would be considered for selection for every game between now and then.

Reed is expected to be named on the bench for tomorrow’s League Two clash at Cheltenham, with Mills saying: “There have been a couple of clubs inquiring about him and he’s expressed to me that he’s not happy and would like to go and play football somewhere else now.

"I’ve told him that he can go if the right offer comes in for him. We would not be looking for fortunes but we would want some money for him.

“I’d like to make it clear though that there’s no animosity or problem between me and Reedy. He’s just not played as much as he would have liked to but, while he might move on tomorrow, he might also play every game for us between now until the end of the season. Who knows with football?

“It might have been a frustrating time for him but, if he does go, he has still played a major part in the success of this football club over the last two years.”

Despite City being short on attacking numbers currently with Ashley Chambers, Michael Coulson and Oli Johnson all sidelined, John McReady on his way back from a dislocated shoulder and Alex Rodman also unable to play in the home match with parent club Aldershot a week tomorrow, Mills would not stand in Reed’s way if a club matches his valuation before he is able to find a replacement for the former Wrexham forward.

“In an ideal world, you would want to replace him before he goes but, if somebody came in with an offer we could not turn down, then we would have to go on without him,” the City boss explained.

Mills also conceded that a major factor in Reed’s lack of starts at Bootham Crescent has been due to the manager’s preference for a 4-3-3 formation.

The City boss added: “I think he would be better in a 4-4-2 and some people might say ‘Well, why did you bring him here then?’ The answer to that question is because he’s a scorer and he has learned a lot about the system since being here and, if he does move on, somebody will be getting a better player than he was when he first came here.

“If I was still at a club looking to get out of the Conference I would definitely be interested in him.”

Mills plans to run the rule over four trialists from the League of Ireland with the quartet set to feature in a friendly fixture at Sunderland next Wednesday.

One is a defender with the other three attackers and Mills added: “I’ve done my homework on them and feel they might bring something positive and, hopefully, could be exactly what I’m looking for.”

McReady, meanwhile, could be pressed into bench duty at Cheltenham after his two-goal return to action in Tuesday’s 3-0 North Riding Senior Cup victory over Northallerton.

Few others enhanced their claims for selection, however, according to Mills in a match that also featured senior professionals Reed, Lanre Oyebanjo, Jon Challinor and Lee Bullock.

The Minstermen chief added: “It was a very poor game. Sometimes those games might be hard for players to get up for but the chance was there for players to catch my eye.

“I was pleased for John McReady after he got two goals in his first game back. I would like to send him out on loan to get a month’s worth of games but, with the players we have got out, he might need to be on the bench tomorrow even though he’s only 50 per cent fit.”

Mills watched tomorrow’s opponents bow out 5-1 to Everton in the FA Cup on Monday night.

The tie left the City boss undaunted at the final whistle but also confirmed what he believes to be Cheltenham’s strengths.

He said: “To be honest, it was a poor cup tie after Everton went 2-0 up in 20 minutes but I still saw enough to show how dangerous Cheltenham are from set-pieces, including the long throw to the far post. We will need to be switched on in that respect but their overall game meant I felt positive about going there at the end of the Everton match.”

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